Fire - Betrayal (33 page)

Nic’s breathing was fast.

“I need to take you home Cate,” he whispered.

I
breathed out audibly, sounding disappointed that he was taking me home, so soon.  I loved his company.  I loved his eyes.  When he kissed me, I felt all gooey on the inside, and I wanted more of him.

“Will I see you in the morning?”
I asked quietly.

“Yes, “Nic whispered back.

“Then you may take me home for now my beautiful Nic,” I said.

Nic
lowered his head and smiled to himself. He held my hand and walked me through the tree lined path and back to the car.  I couldn’t believe the feelings that he evoked in me.  And it worried me.

Ben

My training and racing schedule were heavy
, but I saw Cate at every possible moment that I could.  I needed to spend more time with her.  I needed to tell her that I loved her.  I wanted to ask her to marry me.  I know that we had been seeing each other for a very short while, but I knew that she was the one.  I had no doubt what so ever. But I would have to wait until I knew that she loved me as deeply as I loved her.

The fourth week since
our dramatic relationship began, I went to surprise Cate at her parent’s house.  I couldn’t wait to see her, to touch her, to kiss her, to hold her close to me.  But, she wasn’t there.

She wasn’t answering her cell phone, and
Cate’s parents did not know where she was.  I paced nervously. She always answered her cell phone.

“Mrs Boswell, do you mind if I go up to
Cate’s room? Maybe there is something there that will tell me where she is now,” I asked.

“Sure Nic.  It the first room on the left,” answered
Cate’s mother.

I
sprinted up the stairs and went into Cate’s room.  It was spacious, very orderly and decorated with fine taste.  I walked around the room looking at her things, looking for clues as to where she was.  I found nothing, but turned suddenly when a photo caught the corner of my eye.  There were two photos in fact, one of me, and another of a guy who was dark haired with cerulean coloured eyes.  I guessed it was the guy that Cate had been with before me.  I felt a pang of jealousy shoot through my body, thinking that I had some competition for Cate’s affections.  But then I reminded myself that that guy was in the past.  Cate was with me now.

I
quickly descended the stairs, thanking Cate’s mother for allowing me to go there.  I tried not to show my emotions from seeing the other photo in Cate’s room.

“Nic, what is it?  What’s troubling you?”

“Mrs Boswell, I saw a photograph of another guy in her room.  He was quite spectacular.  Was that her other boyfriend?” I asked, worried.

“Yes, Nic.  But it is well and truly over between them.  I see the way that
Cate looks at you.  There’s no denying that she is attracted to you Nic, and you have done wonders for her since she met you. You are her guy Nic.  Don’t worry about her past.  Look to the future,” advised Cate’s mother.

I
hugged Mrs Boswell and thanked her for her encouraging words.  Then I left the house to go in search of Cate.

My
first port of call was the house that she was building.

My
instincts had led me to the correct place.  The double front door was open.  I walked inside and listened for where Cate would be.  She wasn’t far away, she was just to the right in the library.  I quietly walked to the doorway, and stood and watched her arranging some furniture, taking in all of her beauty, my heart quickening at the sight of her.  Then she looked up at me, startled at first to find me watching her, and then she smiled warmly at me and ran over to me hugging me tightly, whispering my name.

I
wrapped my arms tenderly around her, breathing her in.  Then I let her go, to kiss her.  As my lips touched hers, I felt a strong surge of passion arise in me.  I brought my fingers to touch her face as we kissed. Then I pulled away and walked to another room, trying to contain my feelings for her.

Concerned,
Cate followed me.

“Nic?”
Cate said, worry in her voice.

I
turned to face Cate.  I looked down and held her hand.  Then I placed her hand over my heart.  It was beating strongly and rapidly.

“This is what you do to me
Cate,” I explained tenderly.

C
ate softly touched my face, looking into my eyes. She kissed me lightly on my lips.

She took
my hand.

“Come and see what I’ve done with the rest on my house.  Maybe that will distract you a little Nic,”
she said.

I
breathed in deeply.  “I certainly hope so…”

The house was a spectacle in itself.
I was in awe with the way that Cate had decorated each room.  The paint colours were perfect, the décor was perfect and the ambience that I felt throughout the house was perfect.

“
Cate, your house is awesome.  I feel like I am in a dream home, except my dream home would have my dream wife in it too, of course,” I commented.

Sh
e smiled at me, and then kissed me lightly again.

I looked down. I was worried about Cate’s ex-boyfriend.  What if he returned?  Would she choose me then? I turned around,
so that Cate could not see the change in my mood.

“Nic?”
Cate asked, worried in her voice.

I had to talk to her about the photo in her room.  I had to know where I stood.

“Cate, why do you still keep a picture of your ex-boyfriend in your bedroom?”

“You’ve been in my bedroom?”
Cate was slightly angry.

“Yeah.  I
went in there when I was trying to work out where you were, because you weren’t answering your cell phone and your parents didn’t know where you were,” I explained.  “Please tell me, why do you still keep a photo of your ex-boyfriend Cate?”

I
had become very irritated, that much was obvious.

Then t
ears came to her eyes.

“Do you miss him?”
I waited for her answer.  But there was silence.

“Do you still love him?  What is it
Cate, I need to know why you keep a photo of him?” I was erratic, and feeling very uneasy.

“If I am truly honest with myself Nic, yes I do still love him to a certain degree. But the more time that I spend with you, the more that he is fading into the background, and then I won’t think about him anymore,”
she said.

I
looked into her eyes for some time, silently, my heart breaking.  Then I walked out of the house, without speaking to her, and left in my car.

A Want, A Need

I sat on the floor
and covered my face with my hands and cried.  I had no idea whether I would see Nic again, and my heart hurt.  I
did
love Nic, very much, but nowhere as much as I had once loved Ben.  But, I
did
love Nic.

I
stayed on in the house.  I wanted everything to be right and in its place before I officially moved in tomorrow.  The electricity hadn’t been connected yet, so I used some candles and camp torches to light my way around the rooms.

My
house was beautiful.  It had turned out exactly the way that I had envisioned it to be.

I
did the final walk through my house, checking each room as I went, blowing out candles or turning off camp torches.  Now I would drive home and try to call Nic, maybe.  I didn’t know whether he would want to hear from me, or see me.  I could tell that he had been deeply hurt by the photo of Ben, and the confession that I still felt love for him.  Maybe that was enough for him to leave me for good.  I wanted the chance to explain myself to Nic, and to tell him that Ben was long gone, and that he was the one for me now.

I
opened the front door and turned to closed and locked it behind me.  I turned around to walk down the two steps that led to the pathway from the front portico.

I
stopped in fright.  A dark haired person sat there with his back to me, his head down.  Then he turned to face me.

He
looked up at me, sadness in his eyes.  His face was beautiful, his eyes full of love, and he was intense.  I could feel it.

He stood up, and
slowly walked towards me, his face now unreadable. He gently brought his hand to my face and then brought his lips to mine.  He kissed me with deep passion, tears falling from his eyes.

“
Cate, I love you,” he whispered, emotion choking his voice.

“And, I love you,”
I whispered back.  It hurt me at first to say these words to another man.  But it was the truth. I did love Nic.

“Let’s go back inside your house
Cate,” Nic whispered.

Calmly,
I opened the front door again, and led Nic inside.  He followed me, holding my hand and keeping close to me.  I led him to the grand room and lit a candle in the fireplace.  The glow of the candle was mellow.  I walked back over to Nic, who was standing looking at me, still, his eyebrows furrowed, emotion all over his face.  I placed my hands around him and hugged him tightly and kissed his neck.  I kissed him below the ear, along his jaw line and then to his lips.

We
kissed slowly at first, until Nic kissed me urgently, whispering my name.  I pulled away from him.  He was too intense.  I held him tightly to help him calm down.  He took a step away from me and then returned to me, standing very closely, holding my hands.

“
Cate, I love you so deeply, and I can’t bear to be away from you. I tried to walk away from you because I want you to love me, and only me. Do you think that you will love only me in time?  Will you put away that photograph of
him
? 
He
brings out such a jealousy in me, that I have never felt before,” Nic said emotionally.

I
moved my hands to Nic’s face and said tenderly, “Nic, I love you. I will put
that
photograph away, for you.  And
, he’s
never coming back Nic.  He’s like, in another world.  It is only me and you now…”

I
didn’t get to finish what I was saying, because Nic was kissing me tenderly before he pulled away.

“Stay with me tonight
Cate,“ Nic said, “I want to hold you close to me all night.”

I
looked at Nic.  I could see the longing in his eyes.

“Where will we sleep?”
I whispered.

“Here,“ said Nic.

“Which room?“ I asked.

“Any room that you desire.” And then
he kissed me deeply again.  I knew that he wanted to become one with me.  But we each had our own promises to keep.

Interactions

I returned home at about 7 o’clock
in the morning, greeted by my mum who had a huge smile on her face.

“Well, how was it??”
my mum said smiling, implying that I had finally slept with Cate.

“M
um, yes I went to sleep
next
to Cate, but I did not “sleep” with her,“ I explained, “and why am I telling you this anyway?”

I looked to the floor, anxious to tell my parents about a decision that I had made.

“
Mum, dad, I’m planning on asking Cate to marry me.  I know that I’ve only know her for a short time but, she’s the one I’ve been waiting for.  Please don’t tell her.  I want to ask for her parent’s permission first, okay,” I said, my heart thumping in my chest.

Mum
let out a loud shrill of excitement, and dad shook my hand, smiling. They were chuffed.

“After I shower and have some breakfast, I’ll be heading back over to be with
Cate today.  She is finally moving into her house. I’ll call you later okay,” I informed.

* * *

I knocked on the front door of Cate’s house, and looked down and waited for her, butterflies in my stomach at the thought of being with her again. A faint squeak of the door made me look up as the front door opened.  She smiled as she came crashing into me, a bundle of energy, hugging me. I was put off balance, but managed to stay standing with her wrapped around me. I breathed in deeply trying to slow my heartbeat. I breathed in her sweet scent and then lightly kissed her, and pulled away.  She looked up into my eyes as she traced her fingers on my neck and up into my hair. I knew she wanted more, and so I didn’t object as she pulled my lips to hers again and kissed more deeply.  I loved it when she did that. It cut into the core of my being and I knew that I wanted her as mine. No other man could have her.